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<title>Do We Have To? by CuriousThimble</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27167143">Do We Have To?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble'>CuriousThimble</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fictober 2020 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Forbidden Love, Secret love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:56:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27167143</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen and Evette meet in secret</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Amell/Cullen Rutherford</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fictober 2020 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Do We Have To?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“We shouldn’t be here,” Evette whispered, looking for trouble in every shadow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re sitting in the Chantry chapel with a Templar, it’s fine,” Cullen whispered back, sitting in the pew in front of her. His head was bowed and hands were clasped in front of him, the perfect image of a man in prayer. “Just bow your head.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She scooted nervously to the side, desperate to put more distance between them in case someone came in. This was madness, why had she even agreed to come? “You said...you said you wanted to see me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to be sure you were all right,” he said. “I… I  couldn’t take the solitary shift often without making someone suspicious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Evette shuddered, thinking of the time she’d lost in that dark, damp hole. She’d come out of it light-sensitive, weak, and with the bones in her hands and face in sharp relief. Anders had been waiting for her and took her to the dormitory for a bath and rest before dinner. The meal had been so rich it made her sick, and he’d helped her with that, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The first week was terrible,” she said finally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know. I mean, I saw you at mealtimes. You didn’t eat anything but bread and broth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The rich food made me ill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There’s a long silence that made her think he might actually be saying a prayer. He wasn’t wearing his armor or his more casual Templar tunic, opting instead for a plain shirt and a brown vest. It made him look young— or rather, it let him look his age, he couldn’t be much older than her. Foolishly, she wanted to run her hands over his broad shoulders, to see if the rest of him was as warm as his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She settled for reaching out and touching a single, golden curl, her touch so soft he didn’t feel it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>In another world this would be the beginning of a courtship,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought, pulling her hand back as if his hair burned her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he said finally, turning to look at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wide, startled silver eyes blink at him stupidly. Had he felt her touch after all? This had been a bad idea, she needed to run. “I— we— I can’t—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Evette,” he said softly, taking her hand. “I—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have to go,” she said, jerking her hand away and standing. “Now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at her in confusion. “Do we have to? We haven’t done anything wrong. We’re just...praying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You may have been,” she said. “But I— I have to go.”</span>
</p>
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